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WATERTOWN — The first phase of construction is nearly complete at one of the state's first medical marijuana producers, according to Theraplant CEO Ethan Ruby.

Last month, 109 workers swarmed the property in Watertown's industrial park, erecting walls, installing security systems and adding giant air conditioners on the roof. Since then, an average of over 50 contractors have been adding the finishing touches and sterilizing rooms for growing, Ruby said.

He said he's doing final walk-throughs with representatives from the Department of Consumer Protection, which has already inspected the facility several times to check on progress.

Ruby said his company has pumped $7 million into the local economy in the past 90 days, including the $2 million spent to purchase the building.

Thursday, the former paint factory was transformed from the industrial husk it was a few months ago. The smell of fresh carpet and paint permeated the front offices and conference rooms and what was once a wide-open floor plan peppered with giant paint-mixing machines had been divided into rooms for growing, curing, washing, storing and packaging marijuana.

A plaque proudly announcing Theraplant as a member of the Watertown-Oakville Chamber of Commerce sits on a ledge outside a reception area.

"It's all happening quickly," Ruby said.

All employees must disrobe in locker rooms near the front of the building and change into pocketless uniforms before being granted a daily access card, Ruby said.

Once the product is packaged, an armored car will take it to licensed dispensaries, Ruby said. State law forbids producers from giving preferential treatment to one dispensary over another.

Co-owner Daniel Emmans said Theraplant currently has 109 different strains of medical marijuana started from seed, but the company will be culling those down to sell the varieties best suited to medicine.

Ruby said he expects the first crop to hit the market near the end of the summer.

Supply will be dictated by demand, Ruby said. At the onset, he believes most people will want the raw flower because that's what they're used to, but as the industry evolves, he believes more people will want the active ingredients in extracted form — in vaporizers or tinctures that are less harmful than smoke.

RUBY WARNED THAT THE MARIJUANA he's producing will be much stronger than what's available on the street.

"This is not the marijuana that people are used to," he said.

It's important, Ruby said, for patients to follow the doses recommended by their doctors. If patients don't respect the plant as a medication, it could have ill effects, he said.

"I want to help people. I certainly don't want to hurt people," he said.

Ruby said he will price the product to compete with the current market in Connecticut.

The street price for marijuana varies by amount, type, quality, potency, location, how it's cultivated, and demand, according to Watertown Deputy Police Chief Robert Desena. He said it currently sells for between $37 an ounce and $81 an ounce in the Watertown area.

Although state regulations and the large operation contribute to higher expenses to produce the plant than most growers on the illegal market, Ruby said he wants the medication to be affordable. Theraplant will have a compassionate care program to help those who can't afford it, Ruby said.

Watertown's Planning and Zoning Commission recently granted Theraplant a modification to its site plan to build a 6-foot-high chain-link perimeter fence and reconfigure the parking to bring it all inside the fence. The company also obtained permission to add a generator and second transformer as it increases electrical service. The 80-kilowatt generator would keep security systems working during power outages, according to Curtis Wise, construction manager for Carlin Construction.

Commission member Richard Antonetti wanted Theraplant to add barbed wire, but Emmans said he got pushback from the community in Colorado where he produced marijuana when he put up barbed wire because they didn't like the aesthetic effect. He said a plethora of cameras around the building, an intercom and swipe-card gate system and other security measures would be sufficient to keep would-be criminals from accessing the building.

"The amount of security is phenomenal. I felt like I was going into a 007 movie," Land Use Administrator Ruth Mulcahy said of her recent visit to the site.

There are key pads at every door except the bathrooms and exits.

Wise said all the cameras are in place and he is finishing the first phase of construction of the first 30,000 square feet. The rest of the building will become more grow rooms as demand increases, Ruby said.

The area where the plants are secured has one point of access, 24-hour-security, swipe cards, retinal scans to get into the area, a live security guard and 36 cameras in a 5,000-square-foot area, Emmans said.

He said local police and fire chiefs have been there several times.

"There are a lot of security in place. The fence will be a continuation of that," Emmans said.

Theraplant currently has 16 hourly employees and eight executives; it is looking to hire another five employees in the next 30 days.

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